Death Shall Have No Dominion
by LadyKayoss
Summary: Rinoa's powers began to manifest in new and horrifying ways.


Disclaimer:  All FFVIII characters are property of Squaresoft.

Author's Note:  Happy Halloween, everyone.  Here's your treat.

DEATH SHALL HAVE NO DOMINION

Part One

Death and the Maiden

Wisps of cloud obscured the moon, plunging the road into darkness.  But for the faint glow edging the horizon ahead, the darkness would have been complete.  Rinoa tugged her dark leather jacked closer, as if that would protect her from the night.  Balamb Garden was just over the crest of the hill, but it seemed a long way in the dark.  She wished she'd waited for the others, but they didn't have SeeD exams in the morning.

Rinoa hastened her stride, anxious to get home to her warm bed.  Instructor Mavitz had advised her to get a good night's sleep, and not to worry about the test.  Easy for him to say; he wasn't the first sorceress to ever try to become a SeeD.  Her training was more unusual than any other cadet's.

How she wished that weren't so.  Her powers weren't what she'd expected, coming when she least expected and fleeing when she needed them most.  They were more a hindrance than a help, something that had Edea Kramer baffled.  She could feel the power now, like a light touch brushing just under her skin, waiting for the chance to spill over.  The magic sang in her ears, pumping through her blood and making her whole body feel like a live wire.  She was little more than a conduit for something she feared would one day overwhelm her.  How had sorceresses from the past kept their sanity?

The moon peeked through, and a shaft of moonlight washed over the roadway, painting it in hues of black and grey.  Rinoa was relieved when she saw where she was; Garden was only a mile away.  If it weren't for the trees looming over her, she'd be able to see the building.  _Not much longer, _she thought.  _And none too soon; it's getting cold out here.  She thought longingly of a steaming mug of hot cocoa, while Squall held her close…  She laughed at her fanciful image; Squall had been busy with paperwork when she'd left with the others, and he'd likely gone to bed at this hour._

The road ahead of her curved, and Rinoa stayed close to the road's shoulder.  Someone had hit a chocobo and left the remains ground into the pavement, and Rinoa had no desire to step in it.  For the first time since she'd begun her walk home, she was glad she wasn't with the others.  Selphie had started bawling when she'd seen the bird's corpse.  It had been… embarrassing.  

Her magic suddenly flared within her, and Rinoa froze.  The tingling sensation passed through her body, and Rinoa was surprised there weren't sparks coming out of her fingertips.  _Why does it keep doing this?  It isn't supposed to feel this way!  Then the sensation faded, leaving Rinoa feeling drained.  She dropped to her knees, her breath rasping and sounding unnaturally loud in the silence._

With trembling fingers, she brushed the hair from her eyes, then held her hand before her, searching for a clue, a sign, for _anything that would explain what was happening to her.  _

She pushed herself back to her feet, trudging forward on watery knees.  Forget the hot cocoa; she just wanted to collapse into bed and pray that her magic would settle and that everything would be okay.  Suddenly, home had never seemed so far away.

"-eh?"  Rinoa stopped dead, wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her or if she'd actually heard the sound.  She scanned the shadowy forest, alert for any creatures that may have crept up on her.  But with the moon again concealed by clouds, she couldn't see anything.  And her magic had faded; if there was anything after her, she'd be almost defenseless.  

She broke into a run, forcing her weary body to its limits.  She passed the blood stain where the chocobo had lain hours before.  Fortunately, someone had moved it, or she would have stumbled over it in her panicked flight.  

It was a stick that brought her down.  In her exhausted state, she didn't have the strength to leap it and she couldn't stop her flight in time to avoid it.  She fell, not even able to throw out her arms to catch herself.  She landed on her stomach, and her limbs refused to respond to her commands to get up, to _run…  The moon again showed itself, and a shadow fell over Rinoa's.  So she was being pursued, after all.  Sometimes, being right was a bad thing…_

"Kweh?" it said.  Rinoa blinked as the creature moved closer, and a pair of scaled feet stepped into her line of vision.  "Kweh?"  _A chocobo?  It must have been part of the same flock as the one killed on the road, she realized.  She laughed, feeling rather foolish.  She'd been running from a __chocobo_,_ of all things.  Rinoa decided not to mention this to her friends.  _

Rinoa found the strength to get to her hands and knees, ignoring the chocobo as it danced anxiously around her.  "Friendly, aren't you?" she asked, as the bird nudged the small of her back with its beak.  It gave another "kweh" before backing away.

Rocking back on her heels, she began to brush the grit off her clothing.  She winced as the movement revealed every bruise and scrape she'd accumulated, but other than that, and the unusual weakness, everything seemed to be okay.  "See?  I'm all right," she told the bird.  The gurgling noise it made in response made Rinoa smile, until something occurred to her:  She'd _never heard a chocobo make a noise quite like that before.  She was no expert, but to her it seemed the noises the creature was making had an oddly wet tone, as if it were squawking through a throat full of water._

Rinoa turned to face the anxious bird, just in time to see a clump of feathers fall to the ground before her.  The yellow shafts were mangled and broken, held together by a clot of blood.  "You poor thing; you're hurt!" Rinoa said, raising her head to examine the creature more closely.  Maybe she'd be able to help it.

But what she saw made the blood drain from her face.  The chocobo stood before her, head cocked as if waiting for her to say something.  But she couldn't get anything past the gorge that had risen in her throat.  Half of that head was missing, revealing the shreds of brain left within the cavity.  The neck was askew, as if broken in several places.  Its breast bone was caved in, and rips in its side revealed ribs and organs.  Only its long, muscular legs seemed untouched.  But they shouldn't have been able to support the mess standing before her, the mess that, hours before, had been lying dead on the road.

The chocobo gurgled again, blood dribbling from the edge of its beak as it did so.  And as it thrust its ruined head toward her and licked her with its nicked tongue, something within Rinoa responded to the touch, acknowledging the atrocity before her.  Her magic _recognized the creature._

Rinoa's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she fainted dead away.

*    *    *

She was cold, and weary to the bone as she slowly swam back into consciousness.  A groan slipped through her lips, and she suddenly sensed a presence hovering over her.  Her eyes opened, and Squall's concerned face slowly came in to focus.  "Rinoa?''  His voice sounded as if it came from a great distance, and Rinoa blinked as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings.

Slowly, her senses settled into a semblance of normalcy, with only a vague unsettled feeling as if something were still off kilter.  But she could now recognize where she was, and she sat up abruptly as she realized _when _it was by the light streaming in through the window.  "Ugh," she groaned again as the sudden movement made her feel dizzy.

Squall's hand was instantly on her shoulder, steadying her.  "Don't do that," he chided softly.  "Dr. Kadowaki wants you to lie down until she's checked you over again."  He pushed her slightly, trying to ease her back on to the pillow.  She resisted, though she barely had the strength to.  

"I'm fine…" she said desperately.  "The field test…!"  She wasn't up to anything physical, and she knew it, but she had to take the test.  She couldn't, wouldn't fail!

"I asked Mavitz to delay it until tomorrow," Squall said soothingly.  "Don't worry, love.  No one will think you're too frightened."

That wasn't the point, but Rinoa sighed and finally yielded to Squall's insistence.  She leaned back against the pillow, relieved she wouldn't have to face the Fire Cavern today, but… but why?  "What am I doing here, Squall?  I can't remember..."

She couldn't recall anything beyond leaving Balamb, alone and in the dark, and then… and then…  something to do with her powers?  She felt drained, as if someone had drawn all her magic from her, but that wasn't possible with a sorceress.  

Squall frowned.  "We were hoping you could tell us," he said quietly.  "Selphie found you at the gates when she and the others returned from town.  You were unconscious, and there was blood, though Dr. Kadowaki says you don't seem to be injured.  She thinks it's exhaustion that made you collapse."  Squall's face was strained as he added, "We think you must have been attacked on the road and fought back with your magic.  With your powers acting up like they have been, anything could have happened."  He took her hands in his, the heat of his skin seeming to burn in her own chilled flesh.  "Rinoa, I know you won't like this, but I don't want you going out alone for now."  Rinoa felt the heat rush to her cheeks, and she began to protest, but Squall added quickly, "This is only until we figure out what's going on with your abilities.  You can still take your field exam, I won't stop you from that, I just don't want you going out alone again."

Rinoa considered silently considered his words.  "You're right, I don't like this," she said finally.  "I'll do it for you."  She lifted her finger, touching his lips lightly.  "But I'm not going to miss the Halloween party.  We've worked far too hard on it, and I promised Selphie that we'd double date with her and Irvine."

Squall rolled his eyes.  "Maybe I'll get lucky and be buried with paperwork-" he began, but Rinoa slapped him on the shoulder.  He smiled and leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on her lips.  "We'll be there, don't worry.  I'm not going to expect you to stay confined to Garden.  Just, don't go out alone.  Please.  At least until Matron finds a reason for the way your powers are behaving."

"I promise," she said, and Squall smiled, satisfied.  He knew she wouldn't make a promise lightly.  

*    *    *

"Are you ready, Miss Heartilly?  You still look a little pale."  Instructor Lian Mavitz studied Rinoa as she met him at the gate, his hazel eyes considered.  Rinoa straightened, her hand automatically moving down to tug the hem of the short skirt that was part of the SeeD cadet uniform and the bane of her existence.  It had to have been designed by a man; no woman would want to fight in a skirt that slid up her thighs in battle.  Or when she made any other kind of movements, for that matter.

Fortunately, Mavitz had no interest in her thighs.  The instructor, who had only transferred from Trabia two months ago, had already made his interest in Quistis clear.  "I've fought when feeling worse," Rinoa hedged.  She didn't want him to see just how… _off_ she felt.  She'd been asleep almost the entire time since she'd first woken, but rest had done little to alleviate the feeling that something within her had changed somehow, that night.

If only she could remember what happened!  "Let's be off, then," Mavitz said, turning and striding briskly away.  Rinoa fell into step behind him, her fit body easily keeping pace.  It seemed her feelings weren't physical, at least.

"You will have ten minutes to fight your way through the caverns," Mavitz continued.  Though she knew the test's objectives by heart, she listened to the instructor's advice.  "You will be tested on drawing and casting magic, your use of Guardian Forces, and your ability to subdue and junction Ifrit."  He glanced back at her and gave her a faint grin.  "I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors.  You must have been doing this ever since you fell in with Squall."

The reminder that this test was more a formality than a true test did little to soothe Rinoa's nervousness.  Squall hadn't wanted her to take the test at all, since she already knew as much as any SeeD, but Rinoa didn't want preferential treatment.  She'd go through what every other SeeD had.

Though she had reluctantly agreed to forgo the combat part of the exam.  The world seemed to be at peace at the moment, with no conflicts for demanding the SeeDs attention.  And neither Squall nor the headmaster had been able to think of a field test more challenging than the defeat of Ultimecia.  It had been the same for Irvine, who had taken his Fire Cavern test several days ago.  Since neither she nor Irvine had had formal training with GFs, it was a decent challenge for them.  She'd been considered a SeeD in all but name; now, she would truly be able to claim the title.

"Squall's bad influence didn't help with the written exam," Rinoa joked, trying to keep her voice level.  "If I'd have listened to him, I'd have failed.  Quistis must have passed him out of pity."

Mavitz grinned, then sobered as they reached the entrance to the cavern.  "Ready?" he asked seriously.  "If you need a few moments to prepare, just tell me."

Rinoa shook her head.  "Let's go," she told him.  She took a step, then paused in the entrance as the heat from the cave blasted her skin.  Suddenly, her skimpy uniform didn't seem so bad.  She mentally braced herself, and took the next step into the dark, gaping maw of the entrance.  For a moment, she was swallowed by shadow, then the tunnel curved around and her eyes were bombarded by the red light that permeated the cavern.  The heat from the lava pools made the cave seem to shimmer and waver around her.  The effect made her feel almost nauseous.  

She followed the seared rock path that wound to the cavern's heart, where Ifrit waited to accept her challenge.  The heat was uncomfortable, and sweat quickly covered her skin.  A glance out of the corner of her eye showed that Mavitz wasn't much better.  No wonder this was such a trial; the heat made a normally simple task a trial.

Everything was going as planned.  She and Mavitz proceeded quickly through the cavern, the weak creatures populating the area falling quickly to their attacks.  Rinoa almost felt guilty for the ease with which she drew magic, cast spells, and destroyed the weak monsters.

Rinoa had four minutes left when something made her hackles rise.  She paused, frowning.  Despite the warmth of the cave, she felt a chill, and her breath escaped in a fog.  Something inside of her stirred, and she felt her magic fill her, until it seemed it would burst through her skin.  Her head turned without her intending it to towards one of the molten pits to their left.  

"Rinoa?"  Mavitz had walked ahead of her, but stopped when he realized she wasn't following.  He turned, frowning.  "Is something the matter?  You don't look well..."  She continued to gaze past him, but she saw the blood drain from his face, and he stepped closer.  "Rinoa, your eyes…"

She couldn't answer for a moment, then whispered, "Someone died in here…  He's calling to me…  Rinoa stepped towards the bubbling lava pool, gazing into its depths.  "He's down here.  Waiting…"

She thought she saw a face in the lava, staring up at her, the face pleading.  Rinoa reached for him, calling him to her.  _I'll help you… she thought.  Her fingers lightly brushed the surface of the lava - and then she was roughly yanked away by Mavitz, who was staring at her as though she'd gone mad.  "What were you doing?" the instructor demanded.  He took her hand in his, examining her seared fingertips.  Rinoa stared at them blankly, wondering how she had let it happen._

"I… I don't know," she whispered.  She stared back in to the lava, but saw nothing within that would compel her to touch it.  The power that had pulsed through her veins had vanished as quickly as it had come, as had the freezing touch that had halted her.  She did nothing as Mavitz used a Curaga on her fingers, soothing the pain before it could truly begin in earnest.  

"Are you all right?" he asked warily.

"Yes," Rinoa said.  "I think so."  She wriggled her fingers and felt no pain.

"Good."  Mavitz turned towards the entrance of the cavern.  "Let's go."

Rinoa blinked.  "What?  You mean, leave?"  She stared at him.  "But, my test!  We're nearly through!"

Mavitz wouldn't look at her.  "You're still not well.  I don't think you're ready…"

"We're almost to Ifrit.  Please, let me finish.  I won't do anything else."  _I hope, she added to herself.  What was wrong with her?  First she was collapsing for no apparent reason, and now she was doing foolish things that would have gotten her killed had Mavitz not been there to stop her._

Mavitz finally met her gaze, and he studied her, searching for any sign of insanity.  "All right," he said quietly.  "We'll continue.  But if I decide that you aren't well enough to complete this, then we're leaving, got it?"

Rinoa nodded numbly, and they continued back towards the cavern's heart, where Ifrit waited.  

*    *    *

"I've never seen anything like it."  The words were muffled, and Rinoa had to press her ear to the door to hear the speakers.  She was outside Squall's office, where he and Mavitz were discussing the results of her test.  "The look on her face was unnatural, and her eyes… they were black as a starless night."

"She is a sorceress," Squall said, his voice nearly inaudible.  "There's much we don't know about sorceresses.  This could be a side effect of acquiring her powers."

"How could she know someone died in the caverns?" Mavitz continued, as if he hadn't heard Squall.  "What does Mrs. Kramer have to say about this?"

"That's none of your concern.  What matters is that we can install Rinoa as a full member of SeeD.  As one of us, she will have our full protection and not face the persecution other sorceresses have suffered from."

Ordinarily, Rinoa would have been upset to think that Squall was trying to shield her from the outside world, but if things continued as they were, then she could put herself in serious danger, and perhaps others, as well.

Mavitz left a few minutes later, casting an odd glance towards Rinoa as he passed.  Before she could say anything to him, Squall called her name, and she quickly entered his office, shutting the door behind her.

"It's official; you're now a SeeD," Squall said without preamble.  "You'll start with a low rank and work your way up, just like everyone else."  His tone was brusque; Squall was all business.  He held out his gloved hand to shake, which she solemnly accepted.  Then, when their hands parted, Squall smiled.  "I'm glad you went through the training.  Now everyone will respect you as one of us, instead of thinking you got a position by sleeping with the commander."

"All that wasted effort," Rinoa said with a laugh.  "Guess I don't need to sleep with you anymore, right?"

"Don't you dare say that," Squall said with mock sternness.  "We have to celebrate your acceptance, after all."

"Yes," Rinoa said, her humor fading.  Squall, seeing her change of mood, frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong.  I almost blew it in the cavern.  Squall, I almost killed myself, and I don't know why!  You were right when you told Mavitz I need the protection Garden can give me.  I don't seem to be doing very well on my own."

He didn't look surprised at her admission to eavesdropping.  Instead, he looked thoughtful.  "We'll get through this.  You haven't had your powers for very long, and you got them at a later age than Matron did.  Perhaps that's having an effect.  I'm going to contact her tonight; while she and Cid are in Esthar trying to set up the new Garden, she may be able to search the archives for something similar to what you're suffering from."

Rinoa's face was downcast.  "But what am I going to do until then?  Lock myself in my room?  Stay under constant watch?  I can't live like that," she whispered.  "That's why I left Caraway Manor."

Squall took her in his arms and pulled her close.  "I'd never ask that of you."  She buried her face in the hollow of his neck, and he rested his chin in her hair.  "But I want you to promise not to use any magic, sorcerous or junctioned, until Matron returns."

"That I can do," Rinoa said, relieved.  But what was she to do when her magic acted seemingly of its own free will, as it was wont to do?  She couldn't bring herself to ask, for fear Squall would change his mind.

"Good.  I need you with me at this Halloween party of Selphie's tonight.  If you're locked in your room, you can't distract Selphie from me."  

Rinoa tilted her head to meet his eyes.  "Now what did she do?"

Squall snorted.  "She's convinced someone, probably Zell or Irvine, is playing a cruel joke on her using a dead chocobo.  Apparently, the body seems to keep popping up in unexpected places, and she's in tears over it."

Rinoa stiffened.  _A chocobo?__  There was something about what Squall had said that nagged at her, but she couldn't figure out what.  It was like a blurred fragment of memory she just couldn't place._

"Rinoa, are you all right?" Squall asked when he felt her tense.  "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's just…  It's nothing.  Selphie's just a caring person, is all, and it really is cruel to tease her like that."  Rinoa reluctantly broke from Squall's embrace.  "I should get going.  You still have more paperwork to do, and you don't need me to distract you."

Squall gave the pile of paper on his desk a disgusted look, then said, "Please, distract me."

"Later," Rinoa promised coyly.  She turned away, and had just reached the door when a thought struck her.  "Squall?  Did someone die in the Fire Cavern?"

He was silent for a moment.  "Yes.  About two years ago.  He was arrogant, a lot like Seifer, really, and when he failed the exam, he thought he could prove he had what it took to be a SeeD by doing the Fire Cavern test alone.  The found his arm, the only piece of his body that wasn't eaten away by the lava."

Rinoa shuddered and glanced down at her hand, still pink from where it had been Cured.  If Mavitz hadn't pulled her away, she'd have joined the dead student.

No.  That wasn't quite right. He would have joined _her_…  The magic had been trying to call him to her.  Just as it had called…  Called what?  The flash of memory was gone now, and Rinoa blinked slowly.  Squall was still standing behind her, watching.  She forced a smile onto her face and said, "See you at the party?"

"I wouldn't miss it," Squall said.  "Selphie'd kill me."

*    *    *

The entire town of Balamb had been transformed by the industrious Festival Committee.  Selphie had had most of the Garden cadets, half of SeeD, and almost the entire town helping to turn it into a dark, broody world filled with jack-o-lanterns and gravestones and skeletons resting on every corner.  The faces of the buildings had been covered with black crepe paper, and orange streamers hung from lanterns.  The town square was lit by candles set at intervals along the perimeter, and tables filled with refreshments were set up.  

It was the first party to be held after the defeat of Ultimecia, and Selphie had wanted to make it a celebration no one would forget.  Garden members and townsfolk alike dressed in a myriad of costumes milled around together, enjoying the festive atmosphere.  

There was a slightly somber feel to the crowd as well, though.  The bodies of two teens had been discovered that morning where they'd washed ashore.  The coroner had said they'd had a high alcohol content in their blood and had been unable to save themselves during a moonlight swim.  The tragedy had dampened the spirits of several townsfolk, but most had still come out to have a good time.  

Rinoa watched it all from where she stood by the punch bowl.  Squall stood beside her, wearing his formal Garden uniform, the closest he'd get to wearing a costume.  He made a striking contest to Rinoa with her flowing black dress and her drooping black hat.  Since many earlier sorceresses had been called 'witches,' it had seemed appropriate.

"Punch?" Squall asked, holding a plastic cup towards her.  She accepted and took a sip.  "Some party, huh?"

Rinoa smiled.  "Selphie put a lot of effort into this."  She watched as Selphie and Irvine, dressed as a pair of werewolves, struggled with a speaker.  Irvine's tail kept getting in the way and finally, in exasperation, he ripped it off.  "The dancing is going to start soon.  Want to be my partner?" she asked, grinning.

"I can't dance."  

Rinoa smacked him lightly.  "Then what do you call what you were doing at the SeeD ball, hmm?"

"Showing off," Squall said seriously.

"For me?" Rinoa cooed, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Nope.  Seifer.  Hey!" Squall cried as she smacked him harder.

"No more hanging out with Zell and Irvine for you.  Their sense of humor is starting to rub off on you."  She laughed to take the sting from her words.

"I thought that's what you wanted," Squall said innocently.

Any response she could make was drowned out as the music began with a _bang they could feel through the pavement underfoot.  "Wow!" Rinoa cried, straining to be heard over the loud music.  Squall just stared at her blankly for a moment, then rubbed his ears as if to clear them._

She grinned at him evilly.  Good; if he couldn't hear her ask, then he couldn't answer 'no.'  And it wasn't her fault if she couldn't hear his protests!  With a feeling of déjà vu, she grasped Squall's wrist and dragged him into the square, which was rapidly filling with revelers.  

Fortunately, Squall didn't waste time pretending not to know what he was doing.  He matched her moves, flowing along with the music with the feline grace of his namesake.  Rinoa closed her eyes, content to let Squall guide her through the masked dancers.

The music seemed to throb in time to her heartbeat, and she moved with the rhythm, losing herself in the moment.  And in that one moment where her concentration was lax was all it took; she felt the magic swell within her, that familiar surge of energy that she had no control over that spread through her body until it seemed to strain just beneath her skin, awaiting release.  And then it pushed outward in an uncontrollable wave, leaving Rinoa to sag weakly against Squall.

There was a lull in the music, and Squall leaned so his lips brushed her ear and asked, "What's wrong?"

Rinoa blinked rapidly, trying to clear her muddled thoughts.  "I don't know…  I'm all right," she added hurriedly, seeing the concern on Squall's face.

"Maybe you should sit down."  Squall began to guide her towards the benches.

"I'll be fine; I want to dance," she argued.  

"Rinoa, you look exhausted."  He tenderly brushed her sweaty cheek with his hand.  "You still haven't fully recovered from what happened in the Fire Cavern.  Sit down; I'll bring you some more punch."

But Rinoa didn't feel like sitting.  Unlike previous times when her magic had escaped her, her strength seemed to already be returning.  In fact, she felt better than she had in days.  With a swirl of her black skirt, Rinoa turned back to the dancers.  She watched them for several moments as they wove intricate patterns in time to the music, and only Squall's hand on her shoulder kept her from joining them.

"Here," he said, handing her the punch.  She drank it quickly, only then realizing how thirsty she was.  "You look better.  How are you doing?" Squall asked.

"I'm eager to be dancing again," Rinoa said.  "I don't know why; I guess it's been too long since I was last on a dance floor.  I feel…  I don't know… _energized somehow.  There's something about tonight, I suppose."_

Squall examined her closely, searching for any sign of exhaustion.  He did see something that puzzled him, Rinoa saw from the way his brow furrowed, but he didn't enlighten her on what that was.  She thought she heard him whisper, "a starless night," but she couldn't be certain, for the music had once again become overpowering.

Again, Rinoa found herself amidst the masquerading dancers, Squall at her side.  For this dance, the couples were swapping partners, each person trying to dance with as many others as possible before the music ended.  She let Squall be taken away by Selphie and found herself with Irvine, then was passed along through a menagerie of monsters she couldn't recognize in costume.  She laughed, letting each person have her for only seconds before going on to the next.

And then she ended up in the arms of the dead boy.  His costume was one of the most authentic she'd seen, with a bloated, distorted face and glazed eyes that didn't quite meet hers.  She thought she'd seen him before, but couldn't place his face with it hidden under all that make up.  His hands on hers were clammy, and she shivered at the touch.  She tried to pull away, to move on to the next dancer, but he wouldn't let her go.  Rinoa squirmed to break free, trying not to hurt someone who may not have understood the rules of the dance, but his grip only tightened.  

"What are you doing?" she asked softly.  Her fingers closed around his, and she attempted to pry the vise-like grip from her arm.  "You're hurting me!" she gasped as the youth answered her attempts to free herself by digging his fingers deeper, and she knew she'd have bruises.

This was too much for Rinoa.  "Let me go!" she screamed at her partner.  She yanked her arm away, and staggered back, falling, as he unexpectedly released her from his grip.

Another boy came up to stand beside the first.  His costume was similar, though there was a gash across his cheek.  This one's grotesque features twisted into a smile, and water dribbled down his chin from the edge of his mouth.  He bent down, his hand extended towards her. He lightly touched her cheek with pale, cold fingers.

Rinoa scrambled backwards, wanting to get away.  The muscles of her arm throbbed where her partner had held her, and she didn't want to come into contact with either of them again.  _Assholes!_  Who were they?  And why did they have the bad taste to come dressed like drowning victims, after the tragedy that morning?

_Drowning victims… Hyne, _that's _where I've seen them before!  _Horror-stricken, Rinoa took in their bloated faces, their waxy skin, and their glazed, empty eyes.  And the touch of their skin…  so cold…  just a brush of their fingertips had made her shudder, made her feel as if all the heat would be sucked from her, as if she'd never be warm again…  The two teens standing before her were _dead…_

And she'd brought them here…

Rinoa threw back her head and screamed.

To Be Continued…


End file.
